Haruna was substituted after 36 minutes in Nigeria’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on September 5.
The midfielder was subsequently left out of the side that beat Niger Republic 2-0 in an international friendly in Port Harcourt on September 8.
He has also been omitted from the 25-man squad of players called up for October’s internationals against Congo DR and Cameroon.
Oliseh has now revealed that his latest decision should not be interpreted as tantamount to sounding the death knell on the 24-year-old’s international career.
“If I had not made that change (in the fixture against Tanzania), we would have lost that game because the midfield did not have the triangle in front of it.
“I would have made the change earlier but I did not want to destroy my compatriot.
“However, when things did not get any better, I had to put the interest of the country first.
“(Afterwards) I told (Haruna) what he did not do right. It’s now up to him to work on it.
“If he works on it, he will be selected for subsequent matches,” Oliseh told supersport.com.
Haruna has scored once in seven league matches for Russian club FC Anzhi Makhachkala this season.
He has been capped eight times by Nigeria at senior level.
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